Twelve Coweta County school teachers were surprised with goodie bags, supplies and Bright Ideas checks ranging from $442 to $1,500 when a group of Operation Round Up representatives showed up Oct. 22-23 to announce the 2014 winners in classrooms across the county.
Every year, Coweta-Fayette EMC’s Operation Round Up iniative gives educators the opportunity to apply for grants dedicated to special teaching projects not often available in tightly-budgeted school systems.
Through the Bright Ideas program, the Coweta-Fayette Trust, Inc., Board of Directors awarded nearly $30,000 in Bright Ideas grants to 26 deserving recipients throughout the EMC service area.
Earlier in 2014, the Trust asked K-12 teachers to submit proposals for innovative classroom projects, and over 100 grant applications were received.
Without knowing the names of schools or the educators involved, a group of retired teachers from Coweta, Fayette and Heard Counties rated requests according to the level of creativity, as well as potential student involvement.
Three teachers received the highest amount, $1,500, for their initiatives: Tammy D. Hyder at East Coweta Middle won for her “STEM Locomotion Motion,” Paula Marie Corley at White Oak won for her “iRobot, Do You?” and Kelly P. Duggan at Newnan Crossing won for her “Engineering and Design bring Geometry to Life!” program.
The Bright Ideas program is sponsored by the Coweta-Fayette EMC Operation Round Up Trust from funds raised by EMC members who allow their bills to be “rounded up” to the nearest dollar each month.
This is the tenth year the Bright Ideas grant has been available, and it will be offered to educators once again for the 2014-2015 school year.
Interested teachers are encouraged to begin working now on plans for their applications.
